st taken a good swallow of hot
tea. My father rushed from me to Juschka. "You rascal! you ought not
to have taken the watch," he cried, seizing him by the hair; "and you
sold it to the watchmaker, you good-for-nothing fellow!"

Juschka, in fact, as I afterward learned, had in the simplicity of his
heart sold my watch to a neighboring watchmaker. The watchmaker had
hung it up in his window, where Nastasa had seen it. He bought it and
brought it back to us. Juschka and I were not detained long: my father
got out of breath and began to cough, and besides it was not his way
to be cross.

"Brother," said my aunt, who noticed with regret that he was getting
over his wrath, "don't trouble yourself any more about this matter:
it's not worth dirtying your hands about. And listen to my proposal:
if Nastasa consents, in view of your son's great ingratitude, I
will take charge of the watch myself, and since he has shown by his
behavior that he is no longer worthy of wearing it, I will give it in
your name to a person who will know how to value your kindness as it
deserves."

"Who is that?" asked my father.

"Christian Lukitsch," answered my aunt with a little hesitation.

"Christian?" asked my father; and then added with a wave of the hand,
"It's all the same to me: you may throw it into the fire, for all I
care."

He buttoned his waistcoat, which had come undone, and went out,
doubled up with coughing.

"And you, cousin, do you agree?" said my aunt, turning to Nastasa.

"Entirely," he answered. During the whole scene he had not stirred
from his stool, but there he sat, breathing audibly, rubbing the tips
of his fingers together, and turning his fox eyes by turns on me, my
father and Juschka. We gave him a great deal of amusement.

My aunt's proposal stirred me to the depths of my soul. I did not care
for the watch, but I had a great dislike for the person to whom she
proposed giving it. This Christian Lukitsch, whose family name was
Trankwillitatin, a lanky blockhead of a student, had the habit of
coming to see us, the deuce knows why. To see about the children's
education, my aunt used to say; but he could not do anything of the
sort, because he was very ignorant and as stupid as a horse. He was
like a horse, too, in other ways: he used to stamp his feet like
hoofs, he neighed rather than laughed, and opened his jaws when he did
so till you could see down his throat; and he had a long face with
a curved nose and large